State of Louisiana vs. J.R.

Sep 26, 2011

OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed

This was a case from the Public Defender that they could not handle due to a conflict of interest. Armed Robbery with a firearm of the manager of a Walgreen's store, possible sentence of 15 to 104 yea ... rs, all without benefit of suspension of sentence or probation or parole. Client was a teenager, J.R., still 17 at time of the offense in 2008. It was now 2011. The case had been pending for over 3 years. There had been several prior "conflicts" attorneys on the case, and no one wanted to take it to trial. I could see the foot dragging that had been done in the case,. When I got into the facts, I realized that all of the other prior lawyers truly believed the client to be not guilty and that's was why no one wanted to go to trial or convince him to plead to a lesser offense. (Even his employer at the time of the offense was convinced he was not guilty, and he voluntarily came to court every time there was a hearing to back up the client. ) Unfortunately, when I got the case, the trial judge said "No more continuances", so I had to go to trial. The Judge kept suggesting we plead him out, and I kept saying he was innocent, and the judge and the ADA snickered that I was so naive. Then we started jury selection. By lunchtime the DA had gone through his voir dire of the first panel of 24 potential jurors. It would be my turn to start our voir dire after lunch. I returned to the court room a few minutes before the jury panel was expected. The ADA pulled me aside and told me that he met with the victim at lunch and showed her my client's police interview video for the first time, and she said that J.R. was definitely not the robber. Case dismissed.